[The winning of Calais by the French, January 1558 A.D.]
There is but little doubt that the gross negligence whereby Calais was lost to us, was but the natural outcome of the national demoralization occasioned by the public administration of Queen Mary; which placed all Laymen at the mercy of the Spiritualty, and all Englishmen at the command of the Spaniard. Looking back, all now acknowledge that the loss of Calais was a gain to England, as well as to France: but for a time, it did sting Englishmen to the quick; and that, all the more, seeing it was lost in a war in which we were only fighting Philip's battles, and had no real concern ourselves.
We here group the following Eye Witness reports, accounts, &c., of the loss of the English Pale in France.
| Page | ||
|---|---|---|
| Calais. | G. Ferrers, General Narrative of the Recapture | [173] |
| Lord Wentworth and the Council at Calais. Letter to Queen Mary, 23 May 1557 | [186] | |
| Lords Wentworth and Grey and the Council at Calais. Report to Queen Mary, 27 Dec. 1557 | [187] | |
| Lord Wentworth. Letter to Queen Mary, 1 January 1558; 9 p.m. | [190] | |
| Lord Wentworth. Letter to Queen Mary, 2 January 1558; 10 p.m. | [192] | |
| J. Highfield. Narrative of the Capture of Calais, [March 1558] | [196] | |
| J. Fox. Mistress Thorpe's escape at Calais | [202] | |
| Guisnes. | Lord Grey, Governor at Guisnes. Letter to Queen Mary, 4 January 1558; 7 a.m. | [203] |
| T. Churchyard. Share in, and Account of, the siege of Guisnes, 11-22 January 1558 | [205] | |
George Ferrers, the Poet.
General Narrative of the Recapture.
[Grafton's Chronicle. 1569.]
John Stow, in his Annals, p. 1070, Ed. 1600, referring to this recapture, says, "Whereof Master George Ferrers hath written at large: for he collected the whole history of Queen Mary, as the same is set down, under the name of Richard Grafton."
It is clear from Underhill's narrative at p. 90, that his friend Ferrers, who had been Lord of Misrule under Edward VI., was a Protestant.